Practicing the Principal Tenets of Freemasonry

by Midnight Freemason Guest Contributor

Bro. Adam Samuel Roth

The next time you go to Lodge and sit down on the sidelines, take a look at the brother on your right. Do you have his number in your phone? Take a look at the brother on your left. Do you have his number in your phone? How well do you know your brothers? Would you feel comfortable asking your brother for help or advice if needed? Would you help him or give truthful advice if he asked?

The principal tenets of Freemasonry are Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth. These tenets are intertwined because you can't have one without the other. You cannot be one's brother unless you are willing to be true to them and give them aid. This is how you express love.

In many jurisdictions, a charge is given when a Lodge is closed. In that charge, we are challenged to remember that we have "solemnly bound" ourselves to "relieve every Brother who shall need your assistance." But do we actually do this? Do we use the excuse of our cable tow being too short too often? Being a father of two children not yet in school, I know that I am guilty of this.

Along with giving help to our brothers in need, we need to ensure that a brother is not too proud to ask for help. In many Jewish circles, you are encouraged to ask for help when you need it. When you ask for help, you are giving someone an opportunity to fulfill their obligation to do a mitzvah. A mitzvah is often translated to mean a good deed, but it actually means commandment. In the Jewish faith, there are 613 mitzvot or commandments that need to be observed. A number of them are related to being true while giving aid to those who are in need. The word mitzvah is related to the Aramaic word tzavta, which means to attach or join. By fulfilling the mitzvah and Masonic tenet of Relief, you are creating an attachment to your brother, a connection for Brotherly Love to flourish.

My challenge to you is the next time you need help, ask your brother for it. Do you need advice? Ask your brother for it. The next time you hear the call to help a brother in need, show your brotherly love and heed it.

~ASR

Bro. Adam Samuel Roth was raised in Anacostia Lodge No. 21, now Anacostia-Pentalpha Lodge No. 21, in Washington, DC and is a member of Acacia Lodge No. 16 in Clifton, Virginia. He has held numerous officer positions in both lodges. He is also a member of the Scottish Rite, Valleys of Washington (DC) and Alexandria, and the Kena Shrine in Manassas, VA. Bro. Roth is a devoted husband and father who works for a government agency in the United States of America.

POW/MIA Bracelets

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Steven L. Harrison, 33°, FMLR 

This is not really a Masonic piece, yet it somehow seems to fit in with our Masonic values in remembering the sacrifices some men and women make.

Contrary to public opinion, especially today's unenlightened public opinion, many Vietnam war protests were at their foundation about and in support of the soldiers over there fighting that war. As the war was winding down people began to realize that, while we were about to get our precious young men and women out of there, some might be left behind. We knew there would remain many prisoners of war and also those unaccounted-for and missing.

The North Vietnam government, on the brink of taking over the entire country, had never been communicative about the status of those soldiers; and we had no reason to believe that would change. The prospect of the unified Democratic Republic of Vietnam (actually not democratic and not a republic) controlling the entire country and keeping POWs and MIAs seemed possible, even likely.

That terrifying thought morphed into a movement designed to ensure the POWs and MIAs be remembered and eventually brought home. As a symbolic gesture, many of us wore a metal bracelet containing the name of a missing or captive soldier and vowed not to take it off until that soldier or, sadly, his body returned home. My bracelet was in honor and support of Colonel Kenneth Fleenor; my wife Carolyn's bore the name of Major Terry Uyeyama. 

Colonel Kenneth Robert Fleenor's F-4 Phantom fighter jet was shot down December 17, 1967, near Hanoi. During his captivity, he endured torture, isolation, and starvation. After a grueling five years and three months of imprisonment, Colonel Fleenor was released in March 1973. He completed a successful military and business career, retiring from the US Air Force as a Brigadier General. He also served as Mayor of Selma, Texas 1987-1994. He died December 10, 2010, at 81 years of age.

 

Air Force Major Terry Uyeyama was forced to eject from his plane May 18, 1968, and was captured and taken prisoner of war. He endured the same punishment and torture as other prisoners for nearly five years. A Silver Star recipient, he returned to the US March 14, 1973, and retired from the Air Force in 1980 with the rank of Colonel. Born July 16, 1935, Colonel Uyeyama is now nearly 85 years of age, living in Texas. 

Today the Department of Defense still lists 1,587 Americans as missing and unaccounted-for from the Vietnam War. Nonetheless, in March 1973, Carolyn and I both were able to remove our bracelets. They have sat on the desk in my office at home ever since.

I do not know if the two men whose stories are told above were Masons. In this case, I also don't think it matters much.

~SLH

Bro. Steve Harrison, 33° , is Past Master of Liberty Lodge #31, Liberty, Missouri. He is also a Fellow and Past Master of the Missouri Lodge of Research. Among his other Masonic memberships are the St. Joseph Missouri Valley of the Scottish Rite, Liberty York Rite bodies, and Moila Shrine. He is also a member and Past Dean of the DeMolay Legion of Honor. Brother Harrison is a regular contributor to the Midnight Freemasons blog as well as several other Masonic publications. Brother Steve was Editor of the Missouri Freemason magazine for a decade and is a regular contributor to the Whence Came You podcast. Born in Indiana, he has a Master's Degree from Indiana University and is retired from a 35 year career in information technology. Steve and his wife Carolyn reside in northwest Missouri. He is the author of dozens of magazine articles and three books: Freemasonry Crosses the Mississippi, Freemasons — Tales From the Craft and Freemasons at Oak Island.